On Friday, South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the new defense treaty signed between Russia and North Korea. The previous day, tensions between South and North Korea escalated rapidly as North Korean troops briefly crossed the border.
On Wednesday, Moscow and Pyongyang reached a security agreement, pledging to provide military assistance to each other if attacked. In response, South Korea is considering providing weapons to Ukraine to counter Russia’s invasion.
Earlier on Friday, the South Korean military stated that they had fired warning shots on Thursday, forcing several North Korean soldiers who crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) to retreat back to the north.
Kim Hong-kyun, the First Vice Minister of the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met with Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev on Friday to protest the agreement reached between Russian President Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Seoul urged Moscow to immediately cease military cooperation with Pyongyang.
Kim emphasized that any cooperation directly or indirectly aiding North Korea’s military capabilities violates UN Security Council resolutions and poses a threat to South Korea’s security. He warned that this could have consequences for South Korea’s relationship with Russia.
The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Zinoviev had promised to convey Seoul’s concerns to Moscow’s superiors.
However, the Russian Embassy posted on social media that Zinoviev told South Korean officials that any “threats or attempts to deceive” Russia were unacceptable, and the Russia-North Korea agreement was not targeted at any specific third country.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also warned Russia that UN sanctions on North Korea prohibit all countries from providing materials for nuclear or ballistic missile programs to North Korea.
He told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York, “Countries engaging with North Korea, including the Russian Federation, must fully comply with these sanctions.”
In recent weeks, activists in South Korea have conducted a leaflet campaign along the border, reigniting Cold War-style confrontations between North and South Korea.
Led by North Korean defector Park Sang-hak, activists sent 20 balloons from the border town of Paju City on Thursday evening, containing 300,000 leaflets, 5,000 USB drives loaded with South Korean pop songs and TV dramas, and 3,000 $1 bills.
Analysts suggest that North Korea strongly opposes these materials, fearing they could undermine the morale of frontline troops and residents, weakening Kim Jong-un’s grip on power.
North Korea’s top diplomat, Kim Yo-jong, issued a vague warning, referring to the activists as “scum.” She said, “They keep doing things we forbid them to do, so naturally, there will be some trouble ahead.”
Since May, whenever South Korean activists fly propaganda leaflets across the border, North Korea has sent large quantities of “dirty balloons” to South Korea, dropping tons of garbage and excrement, damaging rooftops, windows, and causing other property losses.
In response, South Korea has restarted border loudspeakers and resumed anti-North propaganda broadcasts. Kim Yo-jong warned in another statement that South Korea is creating “a prelude to a very dangerous situation.”
The South Korean military indicated signs that North Korea is installing its own loudspeakers along the border.
As North Korea accelerates its development of nuclear weapons and missiles, and attempts to ally with Russia to counter Western countries led by the United States, tension between North and South Korea has reached its highest point in years.
South Korea is an increasingly growing arms exporter with a well-equipped military supported by the United States. South Korea stated that it is considering increasing support to Ukraine in response.
South Korea has provided humanitarian aid and other support to Ukraine and joined economic sanctions against Moscow led by Western countries. However, South Korea has not directly provided weapons, as its longstanding policy is not to supply weapons to countries actively involved in conflicts.
Putin stated in Vietnam on Thursday that providing weapons by South Korea to Ukraine would be a “grave mistake” and claimed that if South Korea does not intend to invade North Korea, there is no need to worry about the agreement.
The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul spoke separately with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa on Friday to discuss the new agreement between Russia and North Korea.
The three foreign ministers agreed that the agreement poses a serious threat to peace and stability in the region and vowed to enhance trilateral coordination to address the challenges posed by the Russia-North Korea alliance.
In the latest border incident, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that around 11 a.m. on Thursday, several North Korean soldiers engaged in unidentified construction briefly crossed the military demarcation line between the two countries.
The South Korean military broadcast warnings and fired warning shots, prompting the North Korean soldiers to retreat. The Joint Chiefs of Staff did not disclose further details and did not explain why the information was released a day late.
According to South Korean military observations, North Korea has deployed a large number of soldiers in frontline areas, constructing suspected anti-tank obstacles, reinforcing roads, and laying mines. South Korea believes these actions are likely to prevent North Korean civilians and soldiers from defecting to South Korea.